Leaders and activists of the party staged a sit-in across the state to protest against PM Modi's comment at a public rally questioning Nitish Kumar's DNA, a remark the Chief Minister said was an insult to Biharis.

The party stated it will collect and send signatures of 50 lakh people to PM Modi. "In this 'shabd wapsi' (take back your word) campaign, at least 50 lakh people of Bihar will join a signature campaign and send their DNA samples to PM Modiji for DNA test," Nitish Kumar tweeted. He cited, “As PM Modi hadn't retracted his 'derogatory remarks' despite being requested to, we'll take the battle to the people now."

The JD-U, along with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party will also hold a 'Swabhiman' rally on August 29 here. Last week, in an open letter to PM Modi, Nitish Kumar mentioned, "Most of us feel that these statements (on DNA), beyond questioning my own descent, have disrespected the lineage of our people and have denigrated the great legacy of the state."

Addressing a public meeting in Muzaffarpur on July 25, PM Modi said, "There seems to be some problem in his (Nitish Kumar) DNA because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy, you give respect even to your political rivals."